Images © DC Comics

Some time in 1999 or 2000 someone in DC’s design department asked me to recreate the lettering for this cover from 1971, beautifully crafted by Gaspar Saladino. DC was planning a replica edition but did not have the film negatives of this cover to reprint it from. All they had was a copy of the comic in a bound volume, probably a volume of 100-page Super Spectaculars, of which this was #5. They agreed to my rate, and sent me this color photocopy to work from. I scanned it and painstakingly traced all the lettering in Adobe Illustrator, or in the case of the type at the top, found the right font to match it.

I don’t recall how long it took, but I’m sure it took a long time! The ability to zoom in a ridiculous amount in Illustrator made it possible to match the original very closely. The rate must have made it worth while, though I don’t think I’d attempt this kind of job today. Life is too short. It’s always nice to have a chance to study the fine work of Gaspar Saladino, though. The curve of the lettering where it goes into the gutter took some adjusting, but I think it came out pretty good. The recreation was released in 2000.